Charges for shipping a package depend on both weight and volume. The manner in which volume is factored into the cost is called “dimensional weight” or “dim weight”. Convenient ways for measuring the volume of a rectangular box (also called a rectangular prism or cuboid) are needed.
Thousands of packages are handled and shipped every day by shipping, courier, and delivery services. Such packages may originate at government agencies or private businesses of all sizes. In many cases, the fees by the carriers to their customers are based on the so-called “dim-weight factor” or “dimensional weight factor” (DWF) of the package being shipped. DWF is a fictitious dimension based on length (L) times width (W) times height (H) of a package, divided by a standard agency or association-recognized conversion factor. Even when an object or package is of irregular shape, the dim weight, using the longest measurement each of length, width, and height, is still used for billing purposes. The volume computed by the product of object length, width, and height may hereinafter be known as the “cubic volume,” “spatial volume,” or simply the “cube” of the object.
The measurements of the shipped packages may be necessary such that a carrier may accurately determine the number of vehicles which may be required to ship the packages to their destinations such that both customers and carriers may accurately estimate storage needs.
Package weight and measurements may also be used to determine and estimate weight and balance for transport vehicles such as aircraft, and to determine the loading sequence for packages by weight and dimensions for safety and efficiency purposes. Furthermore, if orders of any articles are to be packed into boxes, knowledge of article weight and dimensions may be useful for selecting the size and durability of the corresponding box.
In the past, it has been a common practice to manually measure boxes or other articles with a manual measurement tool such as a tape measure and perform a calculation for “dim weight” which is then provided to a carrier with the package. If a customer does not measure the articles, then the carrier may perform the measurement. Often, such manual measurements and calculations are done hurriedly. Therefore, there is a chance that the customer will be either undercharged or overcharged. In addition, there are many packages that are difficult, if not impossible, to determine even a grossly accurate manual measurement of dim weight. For example, many machine and automotive parts are shipped without packaging with tags attached or, at most, maybe bagged or shrink wrapped. Therefore, a ruler measurement to determine the greatest extent of each dimension is not accurate in such cases.
It is known that certain types of measuring systems for packages have been used. One measuring system has a base and two sides joining in a corner at 90-degree angles. Each side is marked with dimensional units (e.g., inches) such that a cubic package may be set on the base at the corner and measurements may be manually taken by looking at the markings and recording those markings. However, the accuracy of such manual measurements is limited by the care and eyesight of the measurer, and the time taken may be unreasonably long when many packages are being shipped, as is the case with large retailers.
Another measuring system employs photodetectors along three axes. Still another measuring system employs laser rangefinder technology. A further measuring system employs bar coding technology and provides a barcoded measuring strip on each axis.
Previous apparatus and methods have been extremely successful in the market and have, in fact, created commercial and industrial demand for dimensional measurement. However, these devices and methods have also indicated a need for some refinements which may further enhance their utility and accuracy. A quick, accurate, and cost-effective means and method for determining the dimensions and the cubic volume or spatial volume of packages in a commercial or industrial setting have been lacking for many situations.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems and methods with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.